Why so much hype?

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Blistering performances.

This is not "the greatest documentary about 'The Shining' ever made" as the film poster wants you to believe. I don't think a feature-length documentary about the making of the Shining exists yet. The best one so far is the short 'Making The Shining' [1980] made parallel to the film by Stanley Kubrick's daughter, Vivian.'Staircases to Nowhere' is only of interest to hardcore fans of 'The Shining' as it is merely a bunch of interview clips thrown together. The documentary doesn't have a real beginning or an end, there is no common theme and it ultimately leads nowhere. It's no different than the majority of bonus materials that can often be found on DVDs and Blu-rays. The people who worked on the project just reminisce what it was like to work with Kubrick and the actors. If you're a fan of 'The Shining' you will probably already have heard many of the anecdotes that are being retold here.The film is divided into a number of chapters in which certain aspects of the making of Kubrick's film are being discussed. I found the chapters about the fire at the studio and Kubrick's post-premiere alteration of the film's ending the most interesting ones, even though most of it has been told before in one way or another.